Improvement in fire-arms and ordnance



UNITED Sn'rns nti-intr c. rar, or LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPRQVVEMENT IN HRE- Spceihcation forming partof Lett: rs Patent No. 103, dated May 23, 1837. i

To @ZZ whomf it' maly concern.-

Be it known thatyl, HENRY (IFAY, of Lancaster, in the countyof Worcester 'and State of Massachusetts,v have invented a new and useful Improvement in thepConstruction of Fire-Arms and Ordnance, which is described as follows, reference being had to the annexed drawings of the sam"emaking part of this specification.

Figure 1 representsa View of apistol cocked and ready to be discharged, in which A is the barrel; B, knobs or'trunnions on which the barrel turns for throwing up the breech to receive the charge, andffor cocking the gun, said 'knobs or trunnions projecting Vfrom the side ofthe barrel and, turning in round apertures in the ends oi' the side plates of the stock; G, the stock or handle, .made of separate metallic plates, or of metallic plates and partly covered with wood; D, the trigger; E, the catch for securing the barrel when in its seat; F,

' sight on thecatch, by which to take aim, used also as a handle for disengaging the catch from thebarrel; G, pivot of the hammer; p, pivot of the catch. l 'il'.

Fig. 2 isa view of .the inside ofthe stock, one of the side plates being removed, showing the several parts of the secret vlock hereinafter described. `H is`.the side plate of the stock removed; I, opposite side plate in its place; J, rim placedfbetween'the plates, which is to be of suicient depth to al1ow jof the requisite chamber being formed between the plates at Y the wristto receivethe'lock, "and iscontinued on the undersideasfar-as ,the joint, and on the upper sideas far as the sight; l, partition` to prevent pieces of the; cap andthe smoke yfrom theJvent entering the chamberpcontaining the lock; m, notch or aperture in the partition to-admit the-end lof the hammerto pass .in striking the cap; K, the hammer, turningA on a pivot, G, having a notch, n, in the edge toward the barrel 4toreceive the end of the piston; M, mains'pring forndriving the hammer; N, notch in the ham-mer to receive the en d ofthe dog-to cock it; the dog, turning on a pivot, P; Q, spring for pressing the dog into the notch .N of the hammer; R, a lever (represented. by dotted lines) extending from the trigger to the dog Afor raising itfrom the notch of the hammer; S, fulcrum o1' the lever;

T, the trigger thrown out from a recess on the ARMS AN-ooRNANcE.

l under side of the barrel ready to be drawn toward the breech for iiring; U, pivot of the trigger, which also serves as the pivot of the piston; V, enlarged end of the trigger for bearing upon one end of the lever, pressing the other end upon the dog for disengaging it from the'hammer; W, slide orpis tonI for cockng the hammer, attached tothe barrel bythe same pivot which passes through the trigger, said slide moving horizontally in grooves in the side plates of the stock, and bearing back the hammer to be cocked, the

other end of the piston passing into the notch in the side of the hammer; X, one of the pins in the slide of the piston sliding in the groove in one ofthe side plates; Z, spring for bear# ing up the catch over the end of the barrel to VYsecureit, the sight on the catch answeringas K a handle by which to disengage the end of the barrel when to be raised 'for a new charge.

Fig. 3 is a section of the barrel; a., the bore; b, part of the boreenlarged to receive the chamber containing the charge; C, end of the shifting-chamber resting'r'mly against a seat,

d, formed in the stock to prevent a recoil of the shifting-chamber; e; cone or nipple over which the percussion-cap or primiang is put, screwed into the'end of the chamber from the inside; f, shoulder on the chamber; g, end of the chamber beveled or chamfered.

Fig. 4 is the breech of thebarrel, thrown up in a position to receive the charge.

.Fig 5 represents a section of amusket in which the lever is omitted, andthe trigger answers the purpose of a dog. A is the trigger and dog united; B, spring of the dog; C, hammer; D, mainspring; E, piston connected to the barrel and entering a notch, F, in the hammer.

Operation: To cock and charge the pistol, the spring-catch is pressed down, which disengages it from the breech. The barrel is then turned on the knobs, which raises the breech to receive the charge and depresses the muzzle at the same time and by the same movement. The barrel, acting as a lever, cocks the hammer by pushing back the piston attached to the under side of it against the hammer, which it moves back toward the rear of the stock, at

the same time contracting the mainspring until the hammer arrives atacertain point, when the dog is pressed by its spring into the notch and denearthe lower' end of the hammer, andthus cocks it. 'The metallic charge chamber or tube, ready charged and capped, is takenfrom the cartridge-box, (which contains any requisite number,) and is inserted into the breech 'of the barrel. The barrelis then brought downto its proper position for firing, and secured by the spring-catch, which slipsl over it, when it is ready to be discharged. The

trigger attached to the barrel bythe same' pin that Secures theend of thepiston, being th rown ont by the movement of the barrel, is pulled in the usual manner. This raises one end of the lever and depresses the other upon the long end of the dog, which it also depresses, whilel vat the same time it raises the short end out of the notch of the hammer, and thus liberates it,'when the hammer is driven by the main? spring against the percussion-cap, and the disf charge takes place.v In firing cannon or large fire-arms, instead of moving the barrel, the stock is depressed..A l

The invention claimed (by the subscriber, and'which is desired to be secured'by Letters v Patent, consists in- Cooking the hammer simultaneously with i raising the breech to insert the charge by means of the piston attached to the under side o t the barrel, receivinga horizontal `4movement from A the depression of the muzzle, the barrel acting as a lever in pushing back the hammer. and

contracting the mainspring; also, in screwing .the cone or nipple into the end ot' the cham-- b'er or charging-tube from the inside instead of screwingit from the outside into the top or side, by which it is entirely concealed, and also protectedfrom the Weather and made strong and secure, the explosion ot' the percussion-cap being within the chamber of the represented in the drawings, and which may be made with or without a sight.

The principle ot' turning the barrel of rearms on trunnions, however, is not claimed,

as ordnance has long been thus turned, nor

is-the method of' charging atthe. breech, as this has long been kno 'n. 'Neither does he intend to claim the combined operation of throwing up the breech from the stock and charging with a metallic tube.

HENRY o. PAY.

VVitnessesr/ WM. P. ELLIOT, S. A. ELLIOT. 

